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St. Joe wants new, larger land development plan // DOCUMENT, MAP

Published: Saturday, November 30, 2013 at 10:39 PM.

One reason St. Joe may be moving forward now is because of a 2011 change in the state’s growth-management laws, said Martin Jacobson, Bay County community development director.

Previously, sector plans, like the one being proposed, did not change land use; instead, they were “hovering over” the property without altering it, he said. To change land use, the owner needed a more precise instrument — called a “detailed specific area plan.”

“When you adopt a sector (plan) now, it puts land use on the ground, which is why they want to take all their property including the existing sector and amend it, so they get land use on the ground,” Jacobson said.

It’s unclear what that land use may be. The county hasn’t seen St. Joe’s land use plans, but the company is working on them, Jacobson said. The land use for the various parts would be either conservation or town center/village center, he said.

Jacobson wouldn’t speculate about how he would feel about these large-scale changes being adopted in one fell swoop.

“We’re going to have to wait and see what they show us; it’s just so preliminary right now,” he said.

Jacobson also said St. Joe’s focus is on creating age-restricted — in other words retirement — communities for the sector, similar to The Villages in Central Florida. The company’s goal is to add more development to the east of its WaterSound community near the Bay-Walton line.

WEST BAY — Fresh off selling more than two-thirds of its land in Florida, the St. Joe Co. is taking the first steps toward a new master plan for its property in Bay and Walton counties.

Though still very early in the process, the company wants to create a 112,000-acre Bay-Walton Sector Plan to guide development over the next 50 years. It wants public feedback on the new plan, which would replace the existing West Bay Sector Plan that totals about 75,000 acres.

St. Joe is holding four open houses in December to get public feedback; the first will be at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday at the Bay County Public Library’s main branch.

“We’re hosting these open houses prior to filing any formal applications with the government authorities,” said Jorge Gonzalez, St. Joe senior vice president.

The goal is to introduce the public to the process and the geography involved with the new plan, Gonzalez said. The company wants a master plan for all of its property, and currently its holdings in western Bay and Walton County do not have one.

“It makes a lot of sense to us, and I think it does to (Bay) County too,” Gonzalez said.

There is no timeline to get the plan approved, Gonzalez said, stressing everything is preliminary right now. But St. Joe has already met with the two counties.

One reason St. Joe may be moving forward now is because of a 2011 change in the state’s growth-management laws, said Martin Jacobson, Bay County community development director.

Previously, sector plans, like the one being proposed, did not change land use; instead, they were “hovering over” the property without altering it, he said. To change land use, the owner needed a more precise instrument — called a “detailed specific area plan.”

“When you adopt a sector (plan) now, it puts land use on the ground, which is why they want to take all their property including the existing sector and amend it, so they get land use on the ground,” Jacobson said.

It’s unclear what that land use may be. The county hasn’t seen St. Joe’s land use plans, but the company is working on them, Jacobson said. The land use for the various parts would be either conservation or town center/village center, he said.

Jacobson wouldn’t speculate about how he would feel about these large-scale changes being adopted in one fell swoop.

“We’re going to have to wait and see what they show us; it’s just so preliminary right now,” he said.

Jacobson also said St. Joe’s focus is on creating age-restricted — in other words retirement — communities for the sector, similar to The Villages in Central Florida. The company’s goal is to add more development to the east of its WaterSound community near the Bay-Walton line.

Jacobson said utilities — water and sewer — jump out at him as the big issue to watch. The developments in the new sector would need municipal water and sewer, and the county would require St. Joe to lay the lines for it.

The southern portion of the sector plan would tie into Panama City Beach’s utilities, and the northern sector would tie into the county. But the county doesn’t have “anything,” as far as utilities go in the northwest sector, Jacobson said.